The Minister for the Army, Adam Ingram MP, has told Michael Fabricant there
are currently ‘no plans’ regarding the fate of the Staffordshire Regiment
following the publication of the Government’s White Paper on defence which
announced the restructuring of the armed forces to meet new defence threats.

In a Parliamentary Question to the Minister, Michael asked what would this
mean regarding the future of the Staffordshire Regiment which faced being
disbanded 12 years ago. Adam Ingram replied: "There are currently no plans
regarding the future of the Staffordshire Regiment. The Defence White Paper
provides the policy context for shaping the structure of our Armed Forces.
Subsequently, the details of individual systems and units within that
structure will need to be developed, but presently no decisions have been
taken."

Michael Fabricant now says: "This is a politician’s answer. He has failed
to provide the firm assurance I was hoping for. It is now important that
all MPs who care about the fate of the Regiment maintain gentle pressure so
that the Government knows it will unleash a storm if any plans to disband
the Staffords are announced. In the meantime, I will keep a watching a
brief."